


Color Me Surprised

by Dj_Grimmik



Category: Splatoon
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, Awkward Romance, Eventual Romance, F/F, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gay Character, Hero Mode (Splatoon), I Ship It, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Lesbian Cephalopods (Splatoon), Lesbian Character, Mentor/Protégé, My First Fanfic, My First Work in This Fandom, Original Character(s), Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Romance, Slow Build, Spin on Original Story, Turf War (Splatoon)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-04
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2020-01-04 20:33:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18351200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dj_Grimmik/pseuds/Dj_Grimmik
Summary: There weren’t many instances in Straw’s life where she was surprised by anything. Surprise parties were about as pointless as a squid with no ink and trying to jump scare the young adult was like trying to get the drop on a wall. When she moved to inkopolis, it was just as much as she expected, but if anything was going to catch her by surprise, it’s definitely going to be in the city of color.





	1. •surprise, you’re hired!•

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, I first want to make this clear; My character is not the Straw from the Manga. She a bit calmer if you will. but during the events of splatoon 1 she was a Championship battler leading Her color (The forest Green team) to win one championship and compete in the semi-finals twice. Just wanted to clear the air on that.

-2 years after the move to inkopolis-

Straw walked the short distance from her new apartment complex to the square for a bit of battling. She wanted to get a head start before the lobby’s rush hour to get acquainted with how everything worked. She was a bit rusty; since the last time she competed in the finals for her Pro drafts was about a year and a half ago. Sadly she was not picked for a league team and was content to sit on the side with her small earnings from her new job as a TWE (Turf War Education) teacher for inkopolis junior school.

While her thoughts began to drift to what she was going to be teaching the young squids, her eyes immediately caught a flash of green and dark gray. Curious, she looked to a fretting figure. They turned around to go back the way they came, the worried face of a female inkling stuck out to Straw like a sore thumb, almost as much as her white tentacles and golden eyes. The inkling seemed oddly familiar but Straw couldn’t exactly put her finger on it. Maybe she should check on this person. It could be something she could help with. 

Straw took her first steps towards the lady, aiming to call out to her once she got close enough, but once she did the other inkling changed into her squid form and hopped into a grate directly below her. Baffled as she was, and admittedly a little scared, Straw was not one to turn away from someone clearly in need of help so with a leap of faith she turned into her forest green squid form and hopped down the drain after the mysterious inkling. 

Surprised… was a little bit of a downplay on how Straw felt when she surfaced from the other end of the grate. No, she felt astounded at the landscape before her and in the distance she could see the city plain as day. How can a sewer grate lead to this?

The woman from the square was there too. She stood beside a small cabin with her back to Straw, completely unaware of the other’s presence. “Uh, excuse me? Are you alright?” She turned around, hearing Straw ask the question. 

“The octarians?” She has on a fresh gray and green kimono, her hands hold a lime green parasol over her head to ward away the sun's rays. “No, just some random inkling, thank goodness. You don’t look built for combat but gramps didn’t pick the best looking either and his did fine.” 

“I’m confused, can I help you? You looked a bit distressed back at the square.” This was becoming a mess. Octarians? Built for combat? Not the best looking!? Straw wasn’t sure if this squid was messing with her or needed mental help. 

“Yes, you can help me. I’m Marie, I know you are probably a bit starstruck but get over it.”

“Who…?”

Still stuck in her one sided introduction Marie continues “yes, I’m THAT Marie. you know, from the Squid Sisters!”

“Uh…?” Straw couldn’t wrap her head around this. The name did sound familiar. Where had she heard of it before? Oh, right! Her old roommate had a bunch of those Squid Sisters posters plastered on nearly every blank space in her room.

“Wait, you’ve seriously never heard of me before?”disbelief was written all over Marie’s face and Straw looks away sheepishly. 

“No, not really. I’ve never listened to your music before, but I’ve heard of you.”

“Well I guess distractions won’t be a problem with your work.” Marie disappeared into the cabin and came out a moment later with some clothes and tossed them at Straw. “Put these on. You can change in the cuttlefish cabin.” Before Straw could even utter a word she walked away at a brisk pace and out of Straw’s sight. 

Sighing, She stepped into the cabin. “Looks like I’m not going to be getting some early warmups in today.”

———————-

Straw resurfaced from the first kettle she had submerged herself in, a mini zapfish snuggling into her arm. The little zapfish seemed content, however, the inkling carrying it was a different story entirely. Straw was a silent mess. She just gunned down a platoon of octarian soldiers like it was just normal old turf war!

A hand plucked the zapfish from her arms causing it to buzz slightly in irritation. The zap from the buzz pulled Straw out of her inner turmoil and she finally noticed Marie standing beside her. “How are you feeling after your first mission, agent 4?”

“Wait, what? Agent… 4? You mean to tell me there are 3 other agents and none of them could do this instead of me?”

“No one is available. Just before DJ Octavio, the leader of the octarian menace, escaped; agent 3 and captain went on some odd mission that they wouldn’t tell anyone else about, agent 2 is, um, busy,” She said that part with a bit less assurance than the first, “I have to stand guard over the cabin, and…. and shortly after DJ Octavio escaped agent 1 went missing.” she sighed and turned to face away from Straw, “Just focus on your mission I promise once we sort all of this mess out you’re free to go.” with no further questions Marie carried the little zapfish into the cabin.

Straw turned back to Octo canyon, “well, I guess I’ll go get more.” not hearing a reply, she went to find the next ‘kettle’ as Marie called it. Once she finally found one she inked it and the ground around it with her new weapon, the hero shot. Straw stood over the now visible grate, “I’d much rather prefer a set of dualies but I guess I can call this practice, in a twisted kind of way.” She slipped into the kettle with a bit more determination. 

The dome she surfaced in looked almost like one of the battle stages in inkopolis, the Reef. Straw looked around and switched on her communicator. “Um, Marie, why am I’m in the Reef? Isn’t this a battle stage in inkopolis?”

“You’re not in the Reef. It’s currently an active battle stage. You went to school right?”

Oh, that struck a nerve, “what do you mean ‘did I go to school?’ Of course I did! I’m not some drop out turffer! I’ll have you know I’m a league champion, two time league semi-finalist, and a TFE for Inkopolis Junior High!” Straw was not in the mood for that kind of comment.

“Geez, I was just asking to make sure you’d know what I’m talking about.” She sounded annoyed, “anyway before you, so rudely, interrupted me; when the primitive species roamed the world 12,000 years ago, it was believed that they fought in wars of their own. To train fighters they would build structures similar to their enemies significant landmarks. The octarians have adopted that style of training their octoling force.”

“Fine, sorry I had an outburst. So octolings are in this too? Holy squid this is just getting weirder.” Suddenly Straw heard a strange high pitched beep in her headset. “Charge low. Plug into a power source for re-energization.” 

Straw looked around the Reef replica and spotted a zapfish not far off from her position. “Well isn’t this easy? One zapfish coming up Marie!” She ran towards the cell charger, ready to splat open the ink-case. 

Marie’s yell of warning was far too late as the head of a roller came crashing down onto Straw’s terror ridden face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let me know what you think and if I should continue! it's been a while since I've written a story so I'm a little rusty. feedback is very much appreciated!


	2. •Push through the pain!•

Straw resurfaced from the spawn kettle and immediately gulped in as much air as she could. Her thoughts ran wild with fear. “I’m dead. Oh god, I should have never taken this job.” Her thoughts continued to circle her a mile a minute, but slowly she came to realize something. Her hands flew to her body touching every inch of herself that might have been touched by the opposing ink. “I’m alive!”

“Yes, you are. You need to be more careful! You don’t have that much power! There’s only a limited amount of times the spawn points can bring you back!” Marie’s shouting over her headset hit her slightly. Straw had to be careful. Her parents expected her to call and she still hadn’t had her first kiss! She wasn’t proud to admit it, but growing up in a rural area, she didn’t meet a lot of other squids.

Straw shook off the initial fear and steeled herself for the coming onslaught. She leaped off the spawn deck and ran forward into battle. Overhead, stood the octoling from earlier, she sauntered forward with the roller hefted over her shoulder and a cocky smirk showing her admittedly scary teeth. 

“Aw what’s the matter inky? Didn't I scare you with my roller? Do you need another beating?” Her inklish was heavy with an accent and roughly spoken but straw was aware of her words and the uneasy feeling that they created. “Come on inky, you don’t look so good with that face. I liked the face you made when I splat you better. Let me help you make it again!” The octoling finally launched herself forward and slammed her roller down where straw was standing. She looked around and noticed all of the splotches of forest green ink. And a huff of annoyance left her mouth. “Come on cutie, it will be painless. I promise I’ll do it quick.” She guided her roller over the splotches, covering them in reddish pink ink until only one was left. Her grin grew wider and she rolled over it.

Nothing; the octoling’s face turned from excited to confused. Unbeknownst to her, straw bid her time in a patch of ink in the corner, ready and waiting. The octoling hefted her weapon back over her shoulder and began to scan the area.

Now! With all the might that she could muster, straw rushes her foe and shot her down. She slowed her breathing and looked at the green ink on the ground. She looked to the opposing spawn pad and waited for the octoling to spawn back. She never did. Straw dropped and kneeled, wide eyed, and the realization set in.

The initial surge of adrenaline started to subside and was being replaced with panic. She tried to lift herself from the floor she knelt on but failed. “M-Marie i don’t feel good.” Her vision became blurry and the pain in her stomach just wouldn’t go away.

“Straw? Are you still with me? Can you get back to the kettle? I can get you fr-“  
“Powering down. Energy levels insufficient.” The headset informed. Straw looked up at the kettle. She had to get there but cod help her, she couldn’t even lift herself from the ground. Her labored breathing sped up and the panic still kept its foothold on her. All straw could feel was disquieted.

Millions of thoughts still swarmed her head and she just couldn’t handle it all. This was nothing like turf. There is a risk of death. She could blow these octolings out of existence and that thought scared her. She looked at the splattered remains of ink from her skirmish. It was so easy to kill without hesitation in that moment.

She sat herself up against a wall and set her weapon to the side. A few deep breaths later and she felt as though she could make it. Straw searched around for any sign of a threat. None, here's to hoping it stayed that way. With as much energy as she could muster, she pushed through her panicked and weakened state and worked her way towards the spawn pad. The closer it got the more hope would return.

Back in octo canyon, Straw burst out of the kettle and back from her squid form. She tried to land on her feet but the weakness she felt from earlier still had some effect, so instead of a smooth landing she tripped and rolled onto the ground.

Marie ran out to greet her but found the sight more worrying than she initially expected. “Straw, what happened? Are you alright?” She received a slow nod and watched as straw pushed herself up from the ground once again.

“I killed someone… I was just so scared and I… I don’t know what came over me.” Marie’s expression changed to a more sympathetic one and she slipped Straw’s arm over her shoulder so she could take a little stress off herself. Together, they walked into cuttlefish cabin.

It was a rough terrain to walk through. Boxes and items seemed to have been thrown around without a care, but eventually Marie found a chair and sat the agent down. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to get you some tea. It will help calm you down. I’ll sit down and let you talk with me, ok?”

I don’t think you’d want me to give you any detail. It’s horrible.”

“I know, I’ve been in your shoes before. It’s very hard to cope with when not addressed properly. I’m here for you.” Marie let out a small genuine small and left to prepare the tea. Straw wasn’t keen on admitting it, but that smile took her breath away. No wonder that old roommate was a die hard fan of the Squid Sisters.

____  
The warm, crisp afternoon air blew gently across inkopolis. Most of the city’s residents were bustling about and enjoying the rest of their day. Straw passed many of these people in the square. With a cooling cup of tea in her hand, she dragged herself home. To say she was exhausted was the biggest understatement of the year.

She seemed to have been given a surprise at every turn. Sighing gently; she kept walking home, fully intent to sink herself into her bed that now sounded better than the game system facing it. Her feet instinctively guided her there. The path was long since etched into her head.

Flora Reef apartments stood before her soon enough. She walked in and dug for her keys but came up empty handed. She pat her pockets, confused. “I left the house with them! Did I drop them at the outpost? no way…” Straw turned away from her door and prepared herself to return to get her keys then felt a tap on her shoulder that caused her to freeze up for a brief moment.

“Missing something, chum bait?” She turned around to find her neighbor holding up her ring of keys. “They fell out of your pocket this morning. I was surprised you didn’t notice.”

“Thanks Grimm, I guess I was just eager to get to training. It’s the weekend before school starts so I guess I’m just tired and nervous.” He smiled and gave a light chuckle.

“The great Straw Hat is nervous? Nah, ever since you joined my ranked team for off season you’ve spit nothing but confidence. Those kids will trust you wholeheartedly. You’re a turf champion!” Straw unlocked the door to her apartment and invited her friend in.

“Well, confidence only goes so far.” She shut the door behind him and walked to her couch and sat down. Grimm followed close behind and laid himself across the couch. He looked up and flashed a smile her way.

“Confidence and hope will get you as far as you want to go. Just never lose it!”

“You’re way too optimistic for your name sake.” Straw shook her head and laughed at the irony. She laid her head down, watching Grimm grab her remote and turn on the TV.

“I Get that a lot. Really though, I know you can do whatever you put your mind to. You made a trio of numbskulls into S rank badasses.” He was flipping from channel to channel until one show caught his interest and he tossed the remote somewhere in the room. “Good luck finding that, by the way.” He smirked and looked to his host, only to realize she’d passed out on the couch. “A hard worker as ever, I see.” If only he knew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> starting around April 24th I will be trying to upload the chapters every other day. Unfortunately though, I won't be updating on weekends. I will possibly update the Monday after and follow that with a normal schedule. anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter!


End file.
